Breaking down the Class of 2023

MORE NSD COVERAGE: Northwestern's Class of 2023 l Commitment announcements l RB Caleb Komolafe signs with Northwestern after all

Northwestern took care of business on signing day, inking 19 new Wildcats and securing their best recruiting class under head coach Pat Fitzgerald, and in Rivals history.

The Wildcats rode the roller coaster this recruiting cycle, reaching an absurd high of the No. 3 class in the country when they secured a wave of commitments in June, before settling back down to a respectable No. 38 on signing day.

This class once had four four-stars, but after a 1-11 campaign, Northwestern should be thrilled they were able to keep most of this class together and secure 19 letters of intent on Signing Day.

Let's take a closer look at Northwestern's Class of 2023:

Even with a pair of defensive ends with seven total stars decommitting, this is the best class in Fitzgerald's 17 years as Northwestern's head coach. The Wildcats currently have the 38th-ranked class in the country, through significant adversity. They fired their defensive coordinator, wide receivers coach and defensive line coach last month. They finished 1-11 in 2022 after finishing 3-9 in 2021, yet they put together their best class in Rivals-recorded history.

This marks just the third time that Fitz has assembled a Top-50 class. There are few skill position players, with just one wide receiver, one running back and one quarterback in the class. This is a class built on defense and reloading Northwestern's trenches with some firepower, and several commits could see action early and often.

Center Dylan Senda is ranked fourth nationally at his position, and is the latest recruiting triumph from offensive line coach Kurt Anderson. Anderson has coached two NFL first-rounders at NU in Rashawn Slater and presumably Peter Skoronski. He has an extensive track record of developmental success and has made stealing some of Michigan's best and brightest line prospects his specialty.

Senda, an early enrollee, could become a plug-and-play type guy and make the two-deep or even start on day one. If that happens, he will likely play alongside fellow Michigan native four-star junior tackle Caleb Tiernan, another Anderson coup.

Defensively, three names to watch are four-star defensive end Michael Kilbane, and three-star defensive tackles Dylan Roberts and Tyler Gant. Roberts and Gant both weigh in at 280 pounds, while Kilbane set the all-time sacks record at Ohio powerhouse Lakewood St. Edward. Star power doesn't always equal snaps, but in a front seven that has been decimated by graduation and transfers, any or all of these three defensive linemen could make an impact in their first season.

The Wildcats brought in commits from South Carolina and Florida in the East, to California in the West, but their biggest haul is from their home turf for the second straight season.

Illinois has the most members of Northwestern's recruiting class, with four players staying in the Land of Lincoln: WR Frank Covey IV, DB Damon Walters, OL Anthony Birsa and QB Aidan Gray.

The Wildcats still make their hay in the Midwest, with 10 of their 18 commits from Midwest states. But the Wildcats continue to play a strategic national recruiting game.

This year, they capitalized on coaching turbulence at Arizona's state schools to fly in and pick up a trio of commits from the desert: OL Alex Doost, DT Dylan Roberts and CB Cole Shivers. They also made a trip out to Rock Hill, South Carolina for OL Jordan Knox.

Northwestern got its Class of 2023 in place early, and then held on for dear life. Other than the signing day addition of Caleb Komolafe, who committed and decommitted earlier this month, the latest member of the Class of 2023 was four-star tight end Chico Holt on June 23.

The Wildcats built the core of its class in May, when they secured nine different commitments, including four on May 15 alone. Northwestern really leverages their spring official visits. Once again, they secured waves of commits after getting prospects on campus for a weekend.

They lost two major commits since the start of the 2022 season, defensive ends Mason Robinson and Ashton Porter. That's going to happen when you finish 1-11 and you go three months without a victory.

But the Wildcats were still able to bring home their first Top-40 class, which says that the program's value proposition still resonates with prospects, and the staff is doing an excellent job of maintaining strong relationships with their commitments.

Michael Kilbane: 24th at WDE, 11th in Ohio

Chico Holt: 19th at TE, 55th in Texas

Dylan Senda: 4th at C, 11th in Michigan

Nigel Glover: 34th at OLB, 16th in Ohio

Tyler Gant: 28th at DT, 13th in Missouri

Damon Walters: 39th at S, 11th in Illinois

Frank Covey IV: NR at ATH, 19th in Illinois

Aidan Gray: NR at QB, 20th in Illinois

Anthony Birsa: NR at OG, 26th in Illinois

Camp Magee: 36th at TE, 90th in Florida

Jordan Knox: NR at OL, 10th in South Carolina

Justin "Juice" Cryer: 32nd at ILB, NR in Texas

Ricky Ahumaraeze: NR at WR, 20th in Missouri

Alex Doost: NR at OT, 15th in Arizona

Dylan Roberts: NR at DT, 16th in Arizona

Cole Shivers: NR at CB, 18th in Arizona

Joshua Fussell: NR at CB, 41st in Ohio

Jacob Lewis: NR at S, NR in California

Caleb Komolafe: NR